Vegetable yam (ji akwukwo)

Vegetable yam (ji akwukwo) is a dish made with boiled yam, palm oil and vegetables, mostly green amaranth. You can also use a combination of two vegetables. My father who was part vegetarian, in the midst of serious carnivores, loved this simple dish. It is so easy to make and tastes great.

The quality of your ingredients most times affects the food produced and being that this is a simple dish, with few ingredients, the quality of the ingredients will matter more. You will need good quality yam and good tasting palm oil for this dish to go from great to fantastic. Learn to taste your palm oil if the situation permits, especially if you are buying in large quantity.

To make Vegetable yam (ji akwukwo)

300g yam
40g ukpaka
40g onions, 1/4 cup chopped onions
scotch bonnet, chopped
1 seasoning cube
1/4 cup palm oil
210g green amaranth
30g ariral vegetable (optional)
salt

Cut and peel yam, wash and cut into 2-inch cubes.

Chop onions and pepper.

Pick and wash green amaranth and arirala. Shred finely.

Place yam cubes in a pot, add enough water to cover it, add a little salt and some chopped onions.

Boil until yam is soft and a fork passes through easily.

Drain using a sieve and set the yam aside.

Roughly crush the ukpaka to smaller bits, this makes it act as both a flavouring agent and a component of the dish.

Place the yam back into the empty pot, add ukpaka, onions, pepper and seasoning cube.

Stir very well using a wooden spoon.

Taste and add salt and palm oil.

Place over low heat.

Add the shredded vegetables.

Stir and cover, leave to steam till vegetables have softened but not mushy.

I actually like it when my steamed vegetables still have a bite to it, showing it is still ‘alive’.

Serve hot.

You will also enjoy my Vegetable yam porridge, Yam pepper soup (Ji mmiri oku) and Plantain porridge. Do you have any comments, questions or suggestions, please leave a comment below.

Share this recipe using the share buttons. Subscribe to the blog for instant notifications of new recipes.

Follow on Instagram: @thepretendchefofficial, Twitter: @thepretendchef Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/thepretendchef/, Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/thepretendchef/